Kitbull, Pixar’s masterpiece about a feral kitten and chained dog, was nominated this week for an academy award. It is well-deserved. Kitbull explores the depths of human depravity, the potential embodied in overcoming stereotypes, the fallacy of “fates worse than death,” and most of all, the courage and kindness of the rescuer. While any human with a heart will be touched by Kitbull, for No Kill advocates, its emotional impact is heightened by how…
On Wednesday, New Hampshire lawmakers will vote on a historic bill to ban housing discrimination for families that include a dog, cat, or other animal companion. A copy of my letter, on behalf of the No Kill Advocacy Center: Hon. Marjorie Smith, Chair, and Members of the Judiciary Committee: On behalf of the New Hampshire members and supporters of the No Kill Advocacy Center, we are writing to urge a Yes vote on HB 1391,…
Last year, Julian Castro – former Mayor, Cabinet Secretary, and then-candidate for the President of the United States – promised the creation of a No Kill nation if elected. I noted then that when a cause becomes so popular that those running for the highest office in the land begin to incorporate promises about it into their campaign platform, that cause has arrived. Yesterday, we truly became a potent force for change. At a press…
Pets are family. And they should be treated as such. If HB 1391 becomes law, they will be in New Hampshire as it becomes the first state in the nation to ban housing discrimination against people whose families include dogs, cats, and other animal companions. Based on model legislation by the No Kill Advocacy Center, my organization, the precedent-setting bill by Representative Ellen Read addresses one of the most pervasive challenges faced by renters whose…
The ASPCA reluctantly promised to investigate itself after it was leaked to the press that 20 dogs died in its custody when it cut corners during transport. Seven months later, the ASPCA refuses to say whether such an investigation was conducted and, if it was, what it uncovered and whether any changes were made to prevent it from happening again. The ASPCA took in roughly $263 million in 2017. That same year, ASPCA CEO Matt…
“Nebraska Department of Agriculture records show that half of the state’s commercial dog and cat breeders have left the business over the past seven years.” That is incredibly good news. Moreover, it is a trend that can continue, accelerate, and be replicated elsewhere. The progress in Nebraska shows that laws banning the pet store sale of commercially-bred animals work, with a breeder there admitting that, “Midwest breeders were hurt by a California law that banned…
Today’s Veterinary Business, in an article entitled “The dog shortage is real,” is claiming a nationwide dog shortage of millions of dogs, arguing that animal shelters (and rescuers) cannot meet demand, intimating that remaining shelter dogs are not “family dogs,” and suggesting that importing dogs from other countries poses unreasonable health risks (even while the author admits he lacks the information to know for sure). The author of the piece — a lobbyist for…
Per my last post, I had hoped to take the remainder of the month off from other duties to work on two books scheduled to be published in 2020. But like Al Pacino/Michael Corleone in The Godfather, “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!” What pulled me back in is an opinion piece the Los Angeles Times published that “U.S. cities are overrun with feral cats.” It was written by…
If a picture is worth a thousand words, this one is worth a thousand lives. In fact, it is worth 39,276 of them. I was accused of “cruelty porn” by a commenter on Facebook on a post it accompanied about Why PETA Kills, my book, which I was offering for free in light of my victory over them in a court case. She objected specifically because I’ve posted it before, writing that while she agrees…
Today is Oswald’s Gotcha Day. We adopted him five years ago. It was Oswald’s best day ever. Of course, for a dog who is loved, every day is the best day ever. But there are a few that are especially great: that day, the day he was pulled from the pound (one day away from being killed), and September 22, 1998, a day he didn’t even exist yet. On September 22, 1998, California Governor Pete…